The island of Koh Rong has a small handful of areas and it’s hard to navigate between them. So there’s a big incentive to just hang out at your little beach. I personally was on Coconut Beach. This is the hotel next to me where I ordered easily the worst latte of my entire life. It was so bad I considered sending it back. In Cambodia. The coffee was so bad I considered sending it back and I was in Cambodia. That is an atrocious coffee. The machine must have been in cleaning mode, I can’t think of any other justification.Sunrise means beach clean up. Hotel workers head to the beach en masse and rake up the rubbish deposited by the tide during the previous night. To be dumped in big black rubbish bags that the stray dogs frolic through in between roots, to drift back into the ocean once more. The cycle of Paradise. A morning of reading passes quickly enough. There are no scheduled activities today, and Intrepid offer only diving as an optional extra. After lunch OTL goes rouge and books a boat tour. This is not a ‘safety first’ offering. There are no lifejackets. Rusty nails hold the boat together. The captain’s English is limited to ‘little fish’ and ‘big fish’. I am nervous but don’t want to seem like a loser with our little splinter tour group of four, so I shrug it off. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.It’s, of course, really pretty. Safety be damned.We go for a snorkel first. It’s quite low visibility. Not sure who took this photo underwater. I personally didn’t bring my phone for fear of capsizing. In these 15-20 minutes of unsafe, unsupervised snorkeling I get burnt to an absolute crisp on my leg. Tanned and thin, tanned and thin.Before we go on the boat I share my high school sporting achievements: 9 pin bowling, ice skating, and fishing. I do NOT disappoint the group. I catch easily the biggest fish of the afternoon. Okay, I had a little help reeling her in. When I got the large snag I gave a little (big) yelp and the captain came over, grabbed the line and said, “ohhhh, big fish”. Is there any phrase more validating? If my boss gave me half my bonus and just said “ohhhh, big fish”, I fear I would be nearly just as happy.Through supreme mastery of the Khmer language I managed to decline bbqing the fish in order to return back to dock at mowng brahm mouy (6 o’clock). The other three ladies are well impressed and so they should be! I am a hero among polyglots.It’s a good thing I got the time thing communicated otherwise we would have been coming back in the pitch black. It’s about an hour putter back to the dock.Last full activity day (tomorrow is a five hour transit back to Phnom Penh, where I fly out of) in Cambodia was almost nice. Until I (inadvertently) cause total chaos in the group.
I mention on the boat that I won’t be coming to the informal group dinner the following night. I want a bit of alone time in the city, simple. The good Canadian suggests we do farewell dinner tonight. Sure, I’m happy to come along. OTL organises it via the group WhatsApp chat – she’s got some Italian place she wants to try on the otherside of the island so has a vested interest in organising it.
When we all get in the tuk-tuk to go to the dinner our tour guide remarks.. that’s a bit far away. And then things spiral.
As we’re on the way, the Australian that didn’t come on the boat remarks she really didn’t want pasta. She is a submissive personality and I am unclear why she’s choosing now to assert herself. This doesn’t go unnoticed. OTL: Well you could have suggested an alternative on the chat Other Australian (OA): I probably would have if I’d known it was Italian. OTL: I posted the menu on the group WhatsApp.
Someone changes the subject. The tuk-tuk clunks along for thirty minutes. When we ‘arrive’ there’s nothing around. Some fairy lights and plastic tables and a Cambodian family smoking cigarettes. Tour guide leader (TGL): is this the place OTL? OTL: I’ve given the place name, I don’t have reception, this doesn’t look like it. TGL converses rapidly in Khmer with the driver. We depart, in search again for the pasta OA despises.
We’re taken 15 minutes away to a more populated area. OA raps rapidly on the back of the tuk-tuk glass. We pull up. OA jumps out of the car and says she is going to look around to ‘find something open’. TGL is flustered. Our location is two minutes down the road and have no reason to believe it is closed. OTL, a short tempered lady at the best of time, loses her shit. Refuses to get out of the tuk-tuk. Says she’s done. A flare up meets a flare up and tensions are high. Good Canadian says she regrets suggesting this. Lesson: never meddle in a group. You might not be the first voted out but you will create an unstable dynamic you no longer control. Tribe unity has decayed. An awkward dinner at a random restaurant follows. I’m relieved to be going to Ponderosa tomorrow.
Never realised you had such a passion for fishing.
Caitlin + big fish = happy
Had there been any passive aggressive behaviour prior to the dinner incident
Cait, you inadvertently started this melee and then stood on the sidelines watching the drama unfold.
Did the food recommendation from otl justify the chaos.
Will make for a quiet last day on the bus.
Feel sorry for tgl.
Emma has said that on her tours they tip the tgl at the end and also supply positive online reviews of the tgl which are important for future employment.
His job is to keep the group happy and cohesive which seems to have evaporated through no fault of his own.
If you can, try and make sure he is treated well tomorrow for his work through the tour.
Good survivor reference. I always remember the episode where the group turned on a decent bloke and voted him off because he ate 2 bananas instead of 1. People can make strange decisions when they are out of their comfort zone and in a challenging environment.
Oh my God you caught a fish!! So proud. Bet by the end of that night you wish you had of bbq-ed it!
Loved that you were the survivor chaos merchant without even realising it 😅 funny what triggers people (OA) in the end. Why they reach the end of their rope. Maybe its knowing its the end and that is why people let loose. Did OTL relent and come to dinner? Well hopefully your last night can’t be worse. Hope today is not awkward.
So many good photos! Loved the red boat with the dude casually fishing. I hope he enjoyed his day and his fish 🙂 Its nice how sometimes the unexpected things are the best. Congrats on knowing how to get back before dark. An hour is a long way out!!
Bit confused about the water and beach. Was it nice enough to go swimming or full of rubbish?
I hope Declan recognises his new tanned and thin girlfriend. Can’t remember if it was Kath or Kim who said Glamour hurts.
Love seeing you have fun and love you ❤️
That felt like a White Lotus episode at the end. Passive aggressive behaviour, lost and disorientated in a foreign place. Fellow travellers throwing tantrums and sulking. What a finish to the tour!
Dad: this was the first occurrence of any serious tension in the group since we started.
I 100% stood on the sidelines. I’ve watched enough survivor episodes to know nothing is gained from meddling in a conflict that you’re not directly a party to.
We never got to the OTL destination… She was thwarted. We ended up at a random place just before it.
It was a fairly subdued bus ride the next day for sure. Then OTL asked the Australians to share a taxi to the airport (they had similar flight times) on the group chat and no answer was returned…
Yes the tour guide was not impressed but didn’t say anything.
I like that the scores impact their performance and renumeration. It lessens the gut instinct to tip over and above for good service, as the idea is that you can give a good score and the company can reward them too.
BananaGate.
Mum: 🐠 I actually caught three ! Just posted the photo of the biggest.
OTL did relent but very reluctantly and not with much grace.
Could swim in the water but the beach at the accommodation did have a noticeable amount of rubbish in it and washed up on the shore.
Leo: I won’t spoil who dies at the end.
You know that the tribe has spoken when you are shunned on the group chat.
Did you enjoy otl company or was she a bit much.
I’m not sure if this is just a cliche but my understanding is that many Asian cultures are reserved and concerned about social cohesion so seeing westerners conduct open warfare about where to eat dinner must spin them out
This post was going so well until the end.
Never realised you had such a passion for fishing.
Caitlin + big fish = happy
Had there been any passive aggressive behaviour prior to the dinner incident
Cait, you inadvertently started this melee and then stood on the sidelines watching the drama unfold.
Did the food recommendation from otl justify the chaos.
Will make for a quiet last day on the bus.
Feel sorry for tgl.
Emma has said that on her tours they tip the tgl at the end and also supply positive online reviews of the tgl which are important for future employment.
His job is to keep the group happy and cohesive which seems to have evaporated through no fault of his own.
If you can, try and make sure he is treated well tomorrow for his work through the tour.
Good survivor reference. I always remember the episode where the group turned on a decent bloke and voted him off because he ate 2 bananas instead of 1. People can make strange decisions when they are out of their comfort zone and in a challenging environment.
Oh my God you caught a fish!! So proud. Bet by the end of that night you wish you had of bbq-ed it!
Loved that you were the survivor chaos merchant without even realising it 😅 funny what triggers people (OA) in the end. Why they reach the end of their rope. Maybe its knowing its the end and that is why people let loose. Did OTL relent and come to dinner? Well hopefully your last night can’t be worse. Hope today is not awkward.
So many good photos! Loved the red boat with the dude casually fishing. I hope he enjoyed his day and his fish 🙂 Its nice how sometimes the unexpected things are the best. Congrats on knowing how to get back before dark. An hour is a long way out!!
Bit confused about the water and beach. Was it nice enough to go swimming or full of rubbish?
I hope Declan recognises his new tanned and thin girlfriend. Can’t remember if it was Kath or Kim who said Glamour hurts.
Love seeing you have fun and love you ❤️
That felt like a White Lotus episode at the end. Passive aggressive behaviour, lost and disorientated in a foreign place. Fellow travellers throwing tantrums and sulking. What a finish to the tour!
Dad: this was the first occurrence of any serious tension in the group since we started.
I 100% stood on the sidelines. I’ve watched enough survivor episodes to know nothing is gained from meddling in a conflict that you’re not directly a party to.
We never got to the OTL destination… She was thwarted. We ended up at a random place just before it.
It was a fairly subdued bus ride the next day for sure. Then OTL asked the Australians to share a taxi to the airport (they had similar flight times) on the group chat and no answer was returned…
Yes the tour guide was not impressed but didn’t say anything.
I like that the scores impact their performance and renumeration. It lessens the gut instinct to tip over and above for good service, as the idea is that you can give a good score and the company can reward them too.
BananaGate.
Mum: 🐠 I actually caught three ! Just posted the photo of the biggest.
OTL did relent but very reluctantly and not with much grace.
Could swim in the water but the beach at the accommodation did have a noticeable amount of rubbish in it and washed up on the shore.
Leo: I won’t spoil who dies at the end.
You know that the tribe has spoken when you are shunned on the group chat.
Did you enjoy otl company or was she a bit much.
I’m not sure if this is just a cliche but my understanding is that many Asian cultures are reserved and concerned about social cohesion so seeing westerners conduct open warfare about where to eat dinner must spin them out